A recent study put out by IDC indicated that 90% of developers and 87% of IT decision-makers expect that connecting mobile apps to enterprise data sources will become the norm in business. That same study indicates, however, that companies still face rampant challenges when it comes to the cost of mobile app development.
Building handoff functionality can be time-consuming and can add substantial costs to the project. Mobile apps are powerful drivers of traffic, increasing advertising, sales, and growth. However, app development isn’t inexpensive, which explains why some companies hesitate to jump into the mobile app market. Here are some factors that can, in general, affect the cost of mobile app development.
1. Platforms
2. Features and Functionality
3. UI and UX
4. Backend
5. Testing
6. App Security
7. Integration Points
8. Complex Animation/Visual Aids
9. Support for Multiple Mobile Platforms
10. Maintenance
11. Prototyping
In the future, it’s expected that a majority of mobile application development efforts will focus on creating browser-based applications that are device-agnostic. Determining whether to support iOS, Android, Windows Mobile, or all of the above will help predict development time, and therefore cost. Each platform is different.
Browser-based applications are simply websites that are built for mobile browsers. Such sites are built to load quickly over a cellular network and have finger-friendly navigation. Understanding the major issues of cost in-app development will help you make the most cost-effective decisions. And it will give you the best return on your development. This will also help you stay in your budget.
When you decide to develop an application, you must have some platform in mind. iOS or Android? Or do you have any other mobile operating system in mind? Each platform has its own development complexities, which require different amounts and types of work for different platforms.
IOS platforms are cheaper. When it comes to development comparisons android platforms are a bit expensive. Applications developed for iOS reach users who are financially sound. Therefore, this platform can help you generate more revenue compared to others.
It is important to note that android has a greater market share. Therefore, your decision of the platform will rely on the fact that what is the purpose of your application. Similarly, it will be a significant factor in deciding the cost of developing your application.
Developing an app for internal users, where you have control over which devices and platforms will be supported, is obviously less expensive than doing so in a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) or external environment.
The features and functionalities that you decide to put in your application will ultimately decide the cost structure of the application. The greater the number of features and functionalities, greater will be the cost. Therefore, you must differentiate among the main and secondary functions of your application.
For example, you do not need a geolocation service for an editing app. But you cannot have a food ordering app without the integration of the location services. Thus, you should carefully decide which functionality to go for in your app.
The application will be used by ordinary people once it is developed. No matter how good the application’s back-end is, if the user experience and user interface are not up to the mark, your application simply won’t get enough eyeballs. Therefore, you must have an impressive design for your app.
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A complex large scale app will have more requirements. When you have a complex UI/UX, the cost estimation will be more. Similarly, a simple UI/UX will have lesser cost. Because mobile applications can be extremely broad, the main purpose of the app often drives the development budget.
The backend is also a factor that needs to be considered. Do you only want to support phones? What about tablets? Or should the app be universal? The answer to these questions will help you to prepare a draft about your backend.
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The more complicated your front end, the more complex will be its backend. For storing your data you will be needing databases. Database handling is a responsible task and a major portion of your backend. Again, you’ll also need to integrate third-party apps.
The backend of your app is the backbone. It is deterministic about the cost of the app. Therefore, analyze your app requirements and get the backend process executed successfully.
Gone are the days when app development was the only task conducted. They want to have assistance all the time. Especially when their app encounters bugs. Testing should be carried out at every step.
You should keep in mind that one testing is never enough. It should be done continuously to keep the app working and updated. Now, the cost of this step depends on how much you are willing to spend. It depends on whether you’re using testing software or hiring a testing team. The choice depends on the app that you’re constructing.
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We are flooded with options when it comes to apps. There are a lot of varieties today. We are just one click away. Now, things coming this easy brings some threats along with it.
Data is very crucial. You should never compromise over it. Be it personal or professional, data security should be on the top of your list. Thus, you should ensure that your app is immune to hackers as well as any other known threats. This can be done using app security software. And the cost of this varies on the basis of what security issues are you looking for to fix
An app can either be stand-alone or integrated within an enterprise system. Developing an app for internal users, where you have control over which devices and platforms will be supported, is obviously less expensive than doing so in a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) or external environment.
Integration points will undoubtedly cost you more money during the build but will save you time and money in the long run.
If your app is going to consist of visual animations, normal sample videos, or any other sort of interactive animation, then it might cost you a bit more. When you have simple functionalities included in your app, it might not cost you much.
Visual aids make your app attractive and engaging. Thus, increasing the number of downloaders. Complex animation conveying the actual concept of your app is necessary. Thus, try to invoke some animations and make it cost-effective.
There are two ecosystems for apps today and they are Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. Both iOS and Android provide a huge market for your app. They grant us the gift of potential customers who are looking for useful apps every now and then. There is nothing wrong with developing an app that works on both platforms.
However, you need to look into the monetary aspect when it comes to developing a cross-platform app. Again the same process goes here. Learn the requirements of your app and then decide. Cross-platform apps can cost you a bit than building your app for one platform, but it is totally worth it.
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The task does not get over once the app is deployed. As a matter of fact, the task or say responsibility increases. Since the app, you deployed needs to survive in this fierce market. And to survive in this fierce market app needs all the required updates and bug fixing.
User feedback is usually immediate and includes problems, suggestions, and enhancement requests. You need to think about a maintenance plan from the very beginning and factor it into costs as a certain percentage.
Responding to feedback channels is essential to avoid user attrition due to poor performance, which defeats the business case for developing the app in the first place.
Money gets wasted when in the middle of the process you realize that your app development process is going wrong somewhere. What Then? The time and money both get wasted.
To avoid encountering this incident, try making a prototype. Prepare a basic prototype without aesthetic features and including only basic features. Thus, this way you can create what actually your customers want. Building a prototype will increase the efficiency of your app development process.
Understanding the cost factors in the design and development process can help inform your mobile app business case. These are just cost ideas, come up with your exact requirement set for your developer to know the exact estimation in hours and the corresponding cost.
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